Nest Of Vipers
by gh0stheart
Summary: How far can one go to keep a secret? Would they change their appearance and lie? Would they stab someone in the back? Would they get revenge the exact person who made it so they had to keep the secret? Or would they stay in the dark and keep their best friend close?
1. Gone Fishing

**Disclaimer: I don't own pirate101**

* * *

 **Nest Of Vipers**

 **Chapter One: Gone Fishing**

* * *

Ulysses stood on the edge of the deck letting his short pitch-black hair fly in the wind. He looked down at the sky below, grinning. He always did like the sky; even with how unpredictable it was. In fact it was its unpredictability that intrigued him the most. One minute it could be calm and the next it could be rampaging. It was just like he was in a way; calm on the outside, but on the inside it was completely uncontrolled, a beast of rage. Sometimes that rage would come out and he would become destructive. Everyone who knew Ulysses would say that he was a friendly, passionate boy, but very few knew the real Ulysses; the one who wanted so desperately to get revenge.

Revenge for him was as sweet as honey from a bee's hive, or in one word, dangerous. He wanted to take his revenge from the armada, which killed his only father and was slowly killing him. He had lost his "parents" when he six years old and everyone else who could have possibly mattered. He was pretty much alone in a world full of hate and he was the hated because he was a pirate. There was no place for Ulysses to go that wasn't prejudiced against him except for Skull Island, but first he had to make it that far.

"Ulysses." Cecilia called, her blond hair also blowing in the wind; she looked mightily pissed. Ulysses sighed and diverted his attention to her.

"Cecilia what is it?" He asked. The girl shook her head.

"Just nothing." She told him. It was an absolute lie, then again, Cecilia wasn't always known for her honesty and most didn't understand why Ulysses was even around her.

Cecilia Moore was a girl from the land of Marleybone who was known for her thievery skills. She was one of the best thieves out there until she joined Ulysses in his quest to destroy the armada once and for all. Know one knows why she joined or why she was so happy about it. She was, for the most part, her own mystery, and one that no one has yet to solve.

"Ulysses you shouldn't be day dreaming so much," she told him.

"I wasn't," he protested, giving his best "I wasn't daydreaming look," when an idiot could tell he was.

"Don't lie to me Ulysses," Cecilia said, glaring slightly. She wasn't in the mood to put up with petty little lies.

"Fine Cecilia, I was daydreaming," Ulysses told her irritably. "How do you always know?"

"Oh I don't know maybe it's because it's just so oblivious to me." She told him.

"What's gotten to you today Cecile." He asked Cecilia. Cecile was her nickname that Ulysses called her usually when she was upset, or was like she was now.

"I don't know Ulysses. I just am." She told him with a sigh.

"Oh." Ulysses replied. He was concerned, even though he probably shouldn't have been. She was always extremely moody; she could go from happy to sad in mere seconds.

"Actually there is something that's bothering me." She told Ulysses. He blinked; since when did Cecilia ever confess that something was bothering her. She didn't just do something like that unless she had to.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Well... you know why my parents died, right?" She asked with her head down. He did know, and it was tragic. Their own crew rebelled against them. But he didn't know what this was all about. So he nodded his head.

"The leader of the... mutiny... lives in Skull Island. And he threatened if he ever saw me again I'd be dead. I desperately want to go to Skull Island, but with that threat." She shook her head. "I don't know."

"I have an idea Cecile." Ulysses told Cecilia. She looked up at him; hope glimmering in her emerald green eyes.

"What would it be?" She asked.

"You're a witch doctor, right? Can't you just change your appearance and name?" He asked. She smiled then frowned.

"I could, but I'd have to have the all correct ingredients in the spell." She told him.

"And they would be?" He asked.

"Batacuda teeth and flying fish scales. I have the rest." She told him.

"So basically we have to go fishing or wait for one of them to come on deck?" He asked her.

"That would be correct Ulysses. Which do you prefer? Fishing or waiting?" She asked him.

"Fishing. Definitely fishing." Ulysses answered. It wasn't a wonder really. The smaller sky fish stayed below the boat while the large ones had the tendency to come aboard the ship... more specifically in this case, small Skiff. There were no other crew-members on the ship other than Ulysses and Cecilia so it would get difficult. Batacuda's teeth were extremely long and sharp, if needed the teeth could be used as weapons.

Ulysses charged into the ship's sparsely decorated cabin and found the net that was hanging on the left wall next to one of two hammocks. He grabbed it and tugged it off the wall. It was amazing that the net didn't tear. A big no when it came to fishing things like batacuda and flying fish who were notorious for finding ways out of the nets.

Ulysses headed out of the ship's cabin and signaled with one hand to Cecilia to say that it was time to start. She walked across the deck and grabbed apart of the net that he had dragged out and together they hoisted the net overboard. It wasn't long until the net had fish in it and pulled it in with hope that nothing in the net was too large. The larger the fish was the more of a fight there would be, and with any luck, there would be more flying fish than batacuda's.

Batacuda's were fish that were large, lean and full of teeth. Most of all they were known for their temperaments. A large batacuda could easily take out a crew of six men because they were in their territory.

Ulysses and Cecilia started to pull up the net. Hauling the fish up with them. It was straneus work; heaving and hoeing the the large net up. It seemed pointless and bothersome at times. After all, afterwards they would either have to kill the fish or send it off the deck. It was most likely though the former. They were starting to run out of food.

"Finally," Ulysses said as the net come onto the deck. The fish were flopping around. Now came the hard part. "Cecilia, could you restrain the fish?"

She rolled her eyes. Of course she could. She was a witch doctor, and a good one at that. She concentrated her energy on the fish and green energy came and forced them to stay still. Ulysses slipped out the dagger that was hidden underneath a sleeve and with one swoop decapitated a fish. He didn't feel it necessary to elongate the fish's life anymore than he had. He started on each and every one of them, and there was quite a few. Soon enough, after the blood-spill, he looked over at Cecilia to signal that she could collect whatever she needed from the corpses.

She took a few scales from a flying fish and then teeth from a batacuda. The blood and gore that covered the deck completely unaffecting her. She didn't care for it, but it was to be done. After all, she did need the ingredients.

"Are you going to collect the teeth for a set of daggers, Ulysses?" Cecilia asked. "There is only so much one can do with a single set."

Ulysses sighed, for he knew it was true. He had been avoiding having to buy a new set because money was tight. He snapped off two large teeth of one of the larger batacuda's. He would make them into a weapon later. They now needed to start whatever spell Cecilia needed to make her appearance different. After all, a living Cecilia is far better than a dead Cecilia. The entire thought of her dying put a shiver down his spine and he didn't know why.


	2. The Spell

**A thank you to TheDiamondWriter for following. It means a lot to me.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own pirate101**

* * *

 **Nest Of Vipers**

 **Chapter Two: The Spell**

* * *

Cecilia was tired of always having to hide. After all why else would she have been in Marleybone of all places? She wanted to get away, and technically she did, but now she was coming back. This time she would be different. She wouldn't just cower away. She wasn't going to be the same scared little girl that she had been. No, she was going to be strong. Strong enough so that maybe she could face them.

She entered the skiff's cabin and headed over to the far right corner. It was where she kept her small cauldron and a trunk filled to the brim with spell and potion ingredients. It was also where her pet spider, Patch, liked to hang out. Ulysses avoided that part of the room mostly because of the toxicity and because he was terrified of what would happen if he dared touch Patch. Cecilia was very protective of her pet, and anything sane would stay far away from it unless they wanted to be cursed. Cecilia didn't kid when it came to the "do not touch" rule.

"Patch, could you move off the box and find Ulysses?" Cecilia told the spider on top of her ingredient trunk. It just stared at her and then, as if it were sighing, plopped itself off the box and scurried to the other side of the room where Ulysses was. Needless to say, Ulysses was not expressly happy "spider sitting." Then again, he rarely ever was. Patch on the other hand was perfectly happy being watched by Ulysses and never understood why Ulysses was always tense around him.

Cecilia took her pitcher of magically preserved water out of her trunk and poured it into the black cauldron. Instantly smoke drifted out from the magical flames from underneath the it. The flames were enchanted long ago to start when any water hit the half full mark on the cauldrons side. They also were enchanted not to cause any damage to the skiff. Ulysses was thankful for that.

Cecilia started to one by one drop the flying fish scales inside the cauldron, the water turned a husky blue. Then she dropped the Batacuda fangs and the water became a blood red. She dumped some mint leaves inside the potion, and then some honey. That was when she started to chant, "Morph a facie alium!"

The potion started to turn violet, then green, then, once again, red. Cecilia knew that the potion was now ready. She took a vial and ladle out of the trunk and proceeded to, with the ladle, pour the potion inside. When the vial was full, she drank it and collapsed into unconsciousness. Ulysses and Patch immediately went to her side. Neither one were going to let anything happen to her.

Cecilia started to change. Her blond hair turning a honey brown and her pale complexion darkening into a tan. What was unknown was her eye color, though it would probably stay a green. After all almost every witch doctor had green eyes. Maybe it would be an emerald instead of a light leafy green?

Ulysses knew that he should probably go before Cecilia stirred, after all she wouldn't want him to watch her for whatever length of time that she was out.

"Patch, I need you to make sure Cecile's okay. I know that we don't particularly get along..." Ulysses told the spider. Patch seemed to nod his head, "yes." Ulysses never understood how the spider seemingly understand whatever people told it. Maybe he would ask Cecilia later, after all the spider was her pet.

Ulysses exited the cabin and started to steer his skiff towards a small isle in the distance. It looked about 5 miles out. He didn't know which island it was, of course, but it looked like it had palm trees. If they were lucky they would get extra substance. The fish would only last so long. Ulysses sighed at the thought. He would have to clean the fish and make sure no insects got into it. At least with Batacuda and Flying fish meat it didn't have to be cured for a lengthy amount of time.

He temporarily stopped what he was doing seeing that the wind was becoming still. Ulysses knew this wasn't a good sign. In fact it was a horrid sign. It was the sign for a storm. Sky storms were dangerous, especially inside a small skiff. He only hoped that he would be able to make it to the isle before it hit. After all he didn't want to be the idiot who died in a stolen skiff by a sky storm. It was just embarrassing.

...

Ulysses stole the ship from a pirate somewhere in Marleybone. He took the bottle out of some poor blokes pocket. The man he stole it from was getting rid of it anyway so Ulysses didn't see the harm in it.

The skiff wasn't anything special. It was a plain woodsy brown, unpolished and quite basically a skull island skiff. There were planks that were damaged on the deck and in some areas it was held together by some type of adhesive. No pirate in there right mind would have actually bought the ship. If it was going to be sold it would have been a "fixer-upper."

Ulysses in his spare time had spruced up the ship. He repaired planks and polished the wood. It was his ship and nothing would actually take it apart now that he had it. In a way he was very similar to Cecilia and Patch in that respect. He was very protective of his ship, because, in his mind, it was now his. No matter if he had stolen it or not.

…

Ulysses started working on making sure the meat didn't spoil. Which meant getting out the salt and preserving it that way. The salt was not inside the cabin but instead inside the galley where all the fish would be.

He started to collect the fish up, one by one and put them in the galley. It wasn't hard work, but after dragging the net to catch the fish back into the cabin where Cecilia was still sleeping. It became a bit difficult. Understandably after he had cured the fish, Ulysses just sat in the galley. He didn't feel the need to get up.

The galley wasn't an amazing sight, but it worked for what its purpose was. To be a kitchen. The walls were in some places stained by blood and in others something else. Ulysses wasn't sure what it was, and truthfully he didn't really care. It worked and that was all that mattered.

Soon enough he heard the scurrying of a specific spider. How did Patch manage to open the door? He didn't know. Then again anything to do with that spider was strange. So Ulysses got up and followed the sound. He knew that Cecilia was probably awake or something had happened. He was hoping for the former, not the latter. He soon saw the spider waiting patiently above the trap door Ulysses was under. He climbed up the foldable ladder and greeted the spiders face.

Patch simply moved out of the way. His mistress Cecilia was now conscious. In which he was elated. The spell she had cast had taken a lot of energy from her and he wasn't sure that she'd be awake until early morning; it was almost dusk at the time.

Ulysses followed the spider to the door of the cabin. He could barely make out the outline of the door. He opened it and went inside. It was dark so he couldn't make out where he was going or where Cecilia was. He walked with cation to his side of the room where his chest lay. He opened it with difficulty as it was dark. He felt around in it for a lantern.

His lantern was one of the newer ones that could light with the push of a button. He had to work extremely hard to get it. Which included a lot of plans to steal it. Not a single one of them worked. He wasn't as much of a thief as Cecilia was. Then again, most people weren't the thief she was. And if they were Ulysses would be worried, because Cecilia was one damn good thief.

Ulysses pressed the button and the flicker of a fire started. It would be a long while before this fire would be light enough.

"Cecilia," He asked to what seemed to be the darkness. "Are you okay?"


	3. A New Identity

**Disclaimer: I don't own pirate101**

* * *

 **Nest Of Vipers**

 **Chapter Three: A New Identity**

* * *

There was no answer, no movement, sound or anything to signal that she was alive. Ulysses became worried, so he tried again. There was still no reply. Why did Patch contact him? Soon enough he heard the soft sound of sobbing. Was Cecilia crying? No, she normally didn't allow things to bother her. He moved closer, lantern in hand and saw the outline of her body. She was curled up next to the fireless cauldron. Her head was in her knees. It was oblivious that something was wrong, but Ulysses didn't understand what it was. He came closer. He wasn't just going to leave his best friend alone for no apparent reason.

He didn't know what to say to the crying girl. He was never good at being there when it came to anything emotional. He barely had hold of his own emotions to start out with. He sat himself beside her; though he didn't know what use that was going to be, but he felt that it was the right thing to do. He rarely ever went by "right" and "wrong" if he did he wouldn't have made it far as a pirate. In fact he probably wouldn't have ever met Cecilia.

* * *

 _It had been around midnight in a tavern and Ulysses had been drinking yum. He was watching two Marleybonians negotiate a deal of he wasn't sure what, but he was sure that it was illegal or hard to get. Those were the only types of deals that were made in shady corners of taverns. Ulysses was watching very closely the gold that was being traded for whatever purpose._

 _"You're interested in the gold too..." He heard a female voice to the left of his ear whisper. Ulysses was shocked, but he did his best to hide it._

 _"Yes," he replied._

 _"I could get it for you for a price..." The voice told him._

 _"What is your price?" He asked._

 _"Nothing much, I just need a... home to go back to..." It answered._

 _Ulysses considered his options. He desperately needed the gold, but then he would inherit this girl. He wasn't sure he wanted anyone else living with him. He'd have to stay calm more often than not. Probably a good thing as he needed help with his anger management skills. He had almost blown that relaxed calm cover a couple days earlier... And why would she want to have a home._

 _"Fine, but you better be able to handle a ship, and constant moving about," he told her as he turned his head to see her. He saw a girl about his age with shoulder length blond hair and light-ish green eyes. She was wearing somewhat fashionable clothes and looked presentable. She was better than what he was suspecting._

 _"Thank you," the girl told him and smiled. Now she had to hold her part of the bargain. Which was simple as she had slipped a sleeping potion into the Marleybonians drinks. Everything worked out as she had planned._

* * *

Cecilia wasn't sure what to to do anymore. She no longer had her blond hair, her pale skin tone or anything that would make her Cecilia Moore. She didn't want this, but it had to be done. She wasn't sure why she was crying, or why everything wanted to be away from her. She very rarely ever let her emotions loose, because it was a problem when she did.

She didn't see the light come closer, or feel the presence of another body. She was too wrapped up in her own world.

"What's wrong?" Ulysses asked after a few minutes of absolutely nothing. That was when she noticed he was there. That she wasn't alone. She wasn't used to that. Even after a year.

"Everything," she answered.

"It can't be 'everything' Cecilia," He told her. "Now tell me what's wrong."

Cecilia sighed. She knew that there was no escaping from Ulysses questioning.

"Fine Ulysses, my entire world has literally turned upside down and I can't do a thing to stop it," she told him.

"Then don't try, think about it. You're no longer Cecilia Moore. You are free," Ulysses told her. Those words put a smile on her face, because they were true. She could now do whatever she wanted. She could change her path entirely.

"You're right, Ulysses. I can forge a new path, but I rather like the one I'm on now. Would you like to help me come up with a name for my new identity?" She half asked him.

"Why wouldn't I?" He told her.

"So what do you think of the name, Mary Ivey?" She asked.

"It's okay, I guess, but it doesn't remind me of you," He told her.

"Then what does?" She asked.

"I kind of think that Anneke Ohlen suits you," he tells her.

"It works, and I kind of like it, so sure why not," she told him.

"Kind of? You have to completely like the name," he replied.

"Fine, I actually like the name a lot," she told him.

"And you couldn't say that?" He asked.

"Oh shut up," she replied.

"Not going to."

She knew that it was a bad idea to say what she had. Now Ulysses was rambling on about something unimportant. While she was contemplating who she was as Anneke Ohlen. After all, people were probably going to ask questions. And those questions would need answers. The best lies were based in truth, so she decided she was going to be a witch doctor from Marleybone. She couldn't tell them how her parents actually died. So she decided that they would "die" from the most common death on the sky's, sky storm.

What she couldn't have known was her current situation. The wind was now howling outside and steering the skiff off course.

"Ulysses, was a storm coming," She asked.

Ulysses blinked and stopped his endless talking.

"I thought there might have been, I guess we're going to the Island I found faster than not," he answered.

Was irony trying to teach her something? She wasn't sure, but she was now trying to keep her cauldron and ingredient trunk in place. She didn't use any magic knowing that if there was going to be any lightning it would go to her. She didn't want to be electrocuted. That was when the rain started.

Cecilia was trying to stay calm, but failing. She kept mumbling to herself, "stay calm." If she didn't a massive wave of magical energy would probably be the result. She knew that Ulysses was probably doing a better job of staying calm than she was. She didn't care, this was a huge surprise for her. She wasn't prepared for a storm, even a minor one like this one was. She hated storms. She hated being cooped up inside a small room. Most of all she hated that she couldn't do a thing about it. Sometimes she wished that she stayed in Marleybone.

In Marleybone she could practically do whatever she wanted. Even though she was a wanted thief that couldn't stay anywhere more than a day, and had to steal because she couldn't get any form of a job. In reality her life sucked before she met Ulysses. It was even worse to admit it. She was a street rat. She might've been a good one, but the truth is the truth. Not even she could escape that.


	4. Storms and Books

**Disclaimer: I don't own pirate101**

* * *

 **Nest Of Vipers**

 **Chapter Four: Storms and Books**

* * *

The lantern light was flickering softly inside the cabin, being held tightly by Ulysses who didn't want the only light source to extinguish or even worse break and catch fire to the ship. He wasn't sure how calm he could stay in this storm. There was too much at risk. The skiff, their lives and so much hope. It would have been wasted, all for what? A storm? The lantern was becoming warm to the touch as the flame heightened inside. He didn't know how long he could keep holding it before he had to eventually let it go.

The warm glow of the fire was illuminating some of the cabin. Ulysses was up against the cabin wall, next to Cecilia and her hammock. They were wedged in place, and it was a good thing as the storm picked up. If there were more items they would have been broken or shattered to no return. He looked over at Cecilia, who, he could tell, was in a panic. He knew that she hated storms. She kept mumbling something un-comprehensible under her breath. He decided that this was the time that he would maybe talk to her to keep her mind distracted. A distracted on edge witch doctor is better than a non-distracted on edge witch doctor.

He wasn't sure what to call her, Anneke or Cecilia. Either one would suffice he imagined. He knew that in public he had to call her Anneke. It was her chosen name. He was proud that she had chosen it instead of something like 'Mary Ivey.' He didn't know what he had against the name. He just felt it was so unlike her. He knew that Anneke meant favor or grace. He felt that it suited her because of how graceful she could be. But Ohlen was what he couldn't understand. It meant traditionally popularity and origin. He could justify that if he had the time. He knew it was a bad idea when his father decided to teach his only son to read.

He had told Ulysses that it would be best be literate than that of a clueless idiot that didn't know where he was going. He supposed his father was correct in that aspiration. He would need to be able to read if not only so he could understand a map. But Ulysses liked it past that point. He even had a few books with him in his own private trunk that was kept on the far side of the room. That was when he got the idea to start reading part of a story. He knew that it might distract Cecilia enough that no magical accidents would occur. Now which of the three books should he brave the rocking cabin for? He had no clue, so he devised a plan to grab the first book he could grab out of his trunk.

Carefully he moved out of his cramped position, giving the only light-source to his friend. He moved swiftly across the floor, making sure that he moved with the storms natural rhythm. He made it to the trunk, opened it up quickly and grabbed a book. The sound of thunder could be heard. He scurried across the floor, back to Cecilia and went into his original position. He watched as the hammock slammed into him. It was painful as hell, but he knew that he needed to open the book, and with Cecilia still holding the lantern he could.

"Ulysses, what are you doing?" Cecilia asked in a meek voice. She still hadn't recovered from the thunder.

"Would you like a distraction, Cecile?" He asked in return.

"Yes, but what exactly are you going to do?" She asked.

"I'm going to read, just keep on holding the lantern, okay?" He told her.

"Okay..." Cecilia replied.

Ulysses opened the book, and turned the pages until he hit the first chapter. He now knew which one he grabbed. It was a famous book and one that he hoped Cecilia would recognize; after all it did take place in Marleybone.

" _In the ancient civilization of Marleybone, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the 16th century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another Marleybonian child was born to a rich family with the name of Tudor, who did want him. All of Marleybone wanted him too. Marleybone had so longed for him, hoped for him, prayed to god for him, now that he really did come, the people went mad with joy..."_ Ulysses read.

Cecilia was interested, and wished that she could read. Living on the streets took that little bit of education away from her. So she listened, and listened, until the storm ended. It was really too bad that the book lasted longer than the storm and now she would never hear the end of it. For the first time in her life she was actually curious to how something ended. Sure she wondered how things worked, who didn't? She just never was curious like she was now. The story couldn't just end where it had, could it? There were too many questions to leave. Maybe she should swallow her pride and ask Ulysses to teach her to read. It couldn't be too hard, could it?

"Ulysses, someday could you, um... teach me to read?" Cecilia asked. Ulysses looked up at her surprised.

"You don't know how to? I thought you would. I will, when I have time, teach you. Um... okay, I should go out and see where we are. Chances are we aren't in the same place we were before," Ulysses told her.

"Thank you. Can I come with? I don't know if I can stay in here for the moment," She told him.

"Are you sure, I mean, don't you want to try to sleep?" He asked.

Cecilia sighed. She was exhausted, but she didn't want him to notice. Even though an idiot could tell. She hadn't slept for the past few days, because of worry. She feared that she wouldn't be able to make it far. She feared she would die from the same blade that killed her parents. It was almost too much for her. Even though she had slept earlier, it wasn't a replenishing sleep. It was one that was only for regaining some of her magic back. Past that point it was worthless. It certainly didn't make her any less tired.

She didn't know how everyone else could do it. Stay awake for so long without some type of stimulant. Ulysses she knew was very used to late nights and he went without anything. She was one for sleep. It kept her calmer, less likely to rob someone and less likely to hex whoever was in her way. Sleep was definitely a good option.

"Fine Ulysses, you win," she told him begrudgingly. She didn't like the fact he had won, once again.

"Cecilia, um... why aren't you being your usual argumentative as hell self?" Ulysses asked. He was curious. Normally she would've not agreed with him and if she did it was after a debate. "Are you sick?" He then asked. It was an honest question. He wasn't sure how she would get sick, being they had been out of contact of people for a month, but one never knew...

"Ulysses I'm fine, I just haven't slept, other than the spelled sleep, for days," She told him.

"Before I leave this cabin, I have a question," He told her.

"What is it?" She asked.

"How the hell does Patch open doors, know what people are asking of him and other things?" He asked.

"Oh, well... Patch kind of was at one time, a person that had accidentally turned himself into a spider that my family had given up trying to turn back," Cecilia answered.

"How did he turn himself into a spider?" Ulysses asked worried.

"Accidents happen all the time with magic, and in spider form he's kind of like a familiar, meaning that part of my magic flows through him. According to my family he was my brother..." She told him.

"You know that's just wrong right?" He told her.

"Yeah, but there's worse things..." She told him.

"I truthfully don't think so," Ulysses said under his breath as he left the cabin.


End file.
